As expected,
Resident Bush immediately vetoed the Democrats "$100 Billion
for the War and An Illusion of Withdrawal Bill" otherwise
known as HR1591, but now this? MoveOn and the DemBoosters are
ringing some kind of dizzy alarm: "Emergency Iraq Rally…
show our leaders we mean business… tell Congress this is
the key moment to stand strong against the President’s veto."
Come again?!
For all the
wrong reasons The Pretender has briefly delayed the next payment
of war money and created a momentary crisis among the Empire’s
leadership. OK, so don’t pin a medal on the guy, but at least
define the current state of affairs as one to take advantage of:
get serious about occupying local Congressional offices, tying
up traffic, shutting down universities - resisting as if…
well, as if lives depended on it.
Let’s
examine what the Terrorist-in-Chief vetoed.
To demonstrate
his iron will, he rejected a pathetic bill designed to a) keep
the money and the blood flowing in Iraq, and b) hoodwink war opponents
into thinking it will end the war. For that we’re supposed
to urge the peoples’ champions, that pusillanimous pack of
Congressional invertebrates, to "stand strong?" (Insert
expletive here)
Last November,
a wave of popular outrage against the war swept the Democratic
Party into control of the House and the Senate. This should have
been all the backbone they needed to stand strong. But instead
of using their powerful mandate to end the war, the Democratic
leadership gave us HR 1591, the very embodiment of arrogance towards
voters and submission to Empire. To wit:
- Before troops
can be deployed to Iraq, Army and Marine commanders must certify
in writing that they are "fully mission capable"…unless
Shrub says "for reasons of national security" they’re
good to go.
- Deployments
to Iraq will be limited to no more than one year for the Army
and 210 days for the Marines…unless Shrub says "for
reasons of national security," they’re needed longer.
- After each
tour of duty in Iraq, Army units will get a minimum of 365 days
back home, Marines 210 days…unless Shrub says "for reasons
of national security" they’re needed sooner.
What
matters is that we’ve
not yet thrown a big enough
wrench into business as usual
nor made the nation ungovernable
until the war is ended.
What matters is that many more
people will be killed and maimed
until we do.
HR 1591 would
also have made this the first thoroughly "benchmarked"
war in the nation’s history, requiring the Mad Bomber to
determine on or before July 1, 2007:
"(1)
whether the Government of Iraq has given United States Armed
Forces and Iraqi Security Forces the authority to pursue all
extremists, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias,
and is making substantial progress in delivering necessary
Iraqi Security Forces for Baghdad and protecting such Forces
from political interference; intensifying efforts to build
balanced security forces throughout Iraq that provide even-handed
security for all Iraqis; ensuring that Iraq’s political
authorities are not undermining or making false accusations
against members of the Iraqi Security Forces; eliminating
militia control of local security; establishing a strong militia
disarmament program; ensuring fair and just enforcement of
laws; establishing political, media, economic, and service
committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan; and eradicating
safe havens;
(2) whether
the Government of Iraq is making substantial progress in meeting
its commitment to pursue reconciliation initiatives, including
enactment of a hydro-carbon law; adoption of legislation necessary
for the conduct of provincial and local elections; reform
of current laws governing the de-Baathification process; amendment
of the Constitution of Iraq; and allocation of Iraqi revenues
for reconstruction projects;
(3) whether
the Government of Iraq and United States Armed Forces are
making substantial progress in reducing the level of sectarian
violence in Iraq; and
(4) whether
the Government of Iraq is ensuring the rights of minority
political parties in the Iraqi Parliament are protected."
After this
list of, to be charitable, somewhat slippery requirements, Congressional
Democrats then laid their clever trap that will bring the troops
home:
"If
the President fails to make any of the (above) determinations…
the Secretary of Defense shall commence the redeployment of the
Armed Forces from Iraq no later than July 1, 2007, with a goal
of completing such redeployment within 180 days.
If the
President makes the determinations specified (above)… the
Secretary of Defense shall commence the redeployment of the Armed
Forces from Iraq not later than October 1, 2007, with a goal of
completing such redeployment within 180 days."
Except that
what’s even more clever is how they define a withdrawal from
Iraq:
"After
the conclusion of the redeployment… the Secretary of Defense
may not deploy or maintain members of the Armed Forces in Iraq
for any purpose other than the following:
- Protecting
American diplomatic facilities and American citizens, including
members of the U.S. armed forces
- Serving
in roles consistent with customary diplomatic positions
- Engaging
in targeted special actions limited in duration and scope to killing
or capturing members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations
with global reach
- Training
and equipping members of the Iraqi Security Forces."
In case you’re
still waiting for the punch line to a sick joke, you can read
it for yourself here: http://appropriations.house.gov/
and click on "Iraq Language."
Maybe Congressional
Democrats are playing their version of "Gotcha" while
they set up what they hope will be a Democratic White House in
‘08. Maybe, giving them every benefit of the doubt, they
figured this was the best they could get majority support for.
In the final analysis it doesn’t matter. What matters is
that we’ve not yet thrown a big enough wrench into business
as usual nor made the nation ungovernable until the war is ended.
What matters is that many more people will be killed and maimed
until we do.
Note:
Mike Ferner is a freelance
writer and a former member of Toledo City Council. He served as
a Navy Corpsman during Vietnam and is a member of Veterans
For Peace.
His book, Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from
Iraq (Praeger), has just been published. You can keep up with
the latest addition to America's burgeoning criminal population
at www.mikeferner.org.
Click here for other articles by Mike Ferner:
Keep Them Out Of Ohio!
Dear George, F**K You!
If Not Now, When?
To The Choir
Pick A Number
Let Humanity's Mutiny Begin
What It Takes To Defy Authority In A Non-Violent Way
Haditha Is Not An Aberration
Movements: From Antiwar, To Peace, To Democracy
Speaker Of House Not Responsible For War Funding
Seven Arrested At White House Protest Against Iraq War
There Are Lives In The Balance
Getting Jailed For Peace
